First the UK. Now the US. Throughout the world, neoliberalism is finished. And perhaps now, it will accept that its hegemony is over. For decades now, it has failed to deliver and in two key votes in 2016, those at the receiving end have shown their opposition to its policies and their contempt for those who set those policies and benefit from them.

The parallels are extraordinary. In the UK, in the US, the white working class voted against a neoliberal consensus which has taken them for granted for years. In the UK, in the US, the establishment has focused its attention not on their concerns, but on those who would challenge them from a progressive point of view.

Corbyn in the UK was vilified by his own party and his supporters suspended or expelled. Sanders in the US saw his popular support nullified by the Democratic establishment and its imposition of ‘super-delegates’.

I did not believe that all those who voted for Brexit were racists or misogynists, although it appears there were more of them than I thought at the time. Nor do I do not believe that the millions who voted for Trump are of that ilk. But in both countries – and also, we should add, in France where the The Front National has tweeted “Their world is collapsing. Ours is being built” and Austria and increasingly in Germany - they are anti-establishment. It is a global phenomenon.

There are many in the establishment who understand that and are paying lip service to it.

The Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and – obviously – The Sun are allying themselves with this sense of discontent. Their campaigns against the High Court judges is a case in point. Their objective is to harness the anger and angst to bolster their position and channel it into more harmless directions which will not make fundamental changes and which will ensure that the progressive alternative alternative is defeated.

This morning Trump made a conciliatory acceptance speech. We saw Thatcher do the same. And we saw May do the same. It is a proven modus operandi that has worked many times. Already, the UK and EU establishments are embracing Trump.

This time, we must hear the wake-up call. There’s no snooze button on this alarm.

We must not merely challenge the rhetoric, abhorrent though much of it is; but continue to put the case for a rational, humane, multi-cultural society which cares for all its citizens which presents positive policies to replace the fear and loathing.

We must do it consistently and coherently. And we should start today.

Today from the everysmith vaults: A random shuffle choice on my iPod which has spat out a Dead show from Landover, specifically Terrapin Station.

Sorry Max. They are racist and misogynist. KKK and Front National delighted. Look at the stats. Of white voters, only women with college degrees against.

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Mark

9/11/2016 10:59:36 am

And he even got more of the Latino vote than Romney!

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Allan

9/11/2016 10:55:07 am

Yes. Parallels are clear. Bizarre that anti-globalization is a global phenomenon.And you are right to draw attention to the fact that the establishment will embrace Trump and Brexit and reinvent in order to maintain its position. The need to build a movement from the grassroots - Labour - more crucial than ever.

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SteveL

9/11/2016 11:12:43 am

You didn't by any chance email your blog to JC before he spoke an hour after you posted? Or are you so perfectly in tune with your leader that you think the same?

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Max

9/11/2016 11:15:40 am

LOL. We always did think the same, we just started from a different point of view, tangled up in blue ... And I was pretty sure most would agree with what I was writing, including JC.

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Jon

9/11/2016 11:42:27 am

I woke up this morning and couldn't believe what I was hearing.
3 wickets down on a perfect batting pitch. Thank goodness for Joe Root.
USA ? I wouldn't have bothered voting. If I ever had any belief in politicians it's disappearing at an alarming rate.

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SeanL

9/11/2016 11:55:40 am

Fully agree with you. The old adage of freedom requiring constant vigilance comes to mind. Fascism is not just creeping anymore, it's at a fair gallop, and the right-wing media are helping propel it. As you say, only those of us who believe it's right can continue to espouse tolerance, openness and acceptance. But what a world when people like Farage and Trump and Katie Hopkins are seen as purveyors of truth and 'straight-talking'. An odious place right now. It all beggars belief.

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LevDavidovitch

9/11/2016 02:04:32 pm

Yes. But what?

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Eleanorj

9/11/2016 03:13:28 pm

Gutted. But she really wasn't the one to be the first woman president. Too establishment. Too rich. Too in with the bankers.

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parn123

9/11/2016 08:23:55 pm

Great post Max!
Here are the updated final numbers behind the US election:
231,556,622 eligible voters
46.9% DID NOT VOTE
25.6% voted Clinton
25.5% voted Trump
This is not a Brexit type victory by any reckoning, and not a Brexit+++ one at all.
Although I agree with the spirit of your post, Trump’s victory will only entrench neoliberalism further in the US. Republicans now control:
- Presidency
- Senate
- House
- Majority of State Houses
- Majority of Governorships
- And will pick Supreme Court
and can do almost anything they want. For a good overview of what DT has promised to do as president do visit;
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-09/what-has-donald-trump-promised-to-do/8009846
If you read this you will see that the economy and all things neoliberal are among the least of the emotionally charged things that he has said he will do.
The focus on “neoliberalism” as the source of all evils seems to be a UK-left obsession. I guess it’s a leftover from Marxism. The Soviet Union would still be alive today if Stalin’s successors had been of the caliber of Putin. Trump, Putin, Erdogan and many other political leaders including even Farage know full well that people are passionately moved by many other beliefs and emotions and fantasies than the bad effects of … boring … neoliberalism. And as KenL would say, Hitler blah blah blah.
Still, neoliberalism is on the agenda, and as you know George Monbiot wrote a book about it and this excellent very informative Guardian article which I love:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot
Here is a final quote from it:
“Neoliberalism’s triumph also reflects the failure of the left. When laissez-faire economics led to catastrophe in 1929, Keynes devised a comprehensive economic theory to replace it. When Keynesian demand management hit the buffers in the 70s, there was an alternative ready. But when neoliberalism fell apart in 2008 there was ... nothing. This is why the zombie walks. The left and centre have produced no new general framework of economic thought for 80 years.”
I don’t believe the British Labour party today is going to change anything in this regard.
Fortunately, in other news today, the earth still turns and the sun has risen again.